This recipe card says it is from the N.Y. Gaslight Restaurant, but all I can find is a night club that debuted Bob Dylan once upon a time. While the timing of that would be correct - Mom and Dad left NYC just as the beatnik's moved in - the Dylan Restaurant does not seem to have offered fine dining. IngredientsBeef tenderloin, cut into 1/2" slicesbuttersaltpepperCognacBeef stock or brown saucechopped chiveschopped parsley1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms wild riceProcess

I am getting the sense from Mom's note cards that Life Magazine used to publish recipes from restaurants around the country. The pictures say it all for this recipe so I don't need to type it all out, but here is what I can find about the restaurant. Pavillon is now permanently closed, but it was an eatery on Union Square up until 1966.

This recipe is from my Aunt Joan, my fathers sister, who sadly died before I was born. It says it is from Benoit's, which as far as I can tell, is a restaurant in NYC. Benoit has been recrafted by Alain Ducasse since 2016, but I can't seem to figure out how long the restaurant has been open, or is it just a spin off of a Parisian restaurant. Either way I try to give credit where credit is due.

Of the many food blogs I follow, I Am a Food Blog is one of my favorites. I am looking forward to making this yummy simple crowd pleasing dish for the whole family tonight after they get back from a beautiful day of skiing. This recipe for Date Night Lemon Pasta looks amazing.

Dinner last night was a yummy Instapot recipe from the blog Delightful Adventures for Lentil Sloppy Joes. I wish I had gotten a picture of the process, but SP was cooking and I was busy blogging up a storm of past die recipes from the old metal box. I highly recommend this vegetarian version of a kid pleasing meal.

This recipe is from Aunt Julie, a boarding school roommate of Mom's at Ms. Porters School. Her husband Charlie was my brother's Godfather. Their family story is a tragic one, but I am thankful for their contribution to my childhood. Julie's famous chocolate chip cookie recipe can be found here. Ingredients1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds scallopsFlourWhite winebuttershallots or onionmushroomsheavy creamProcess

Make a beurre manie (a dough consisting of equal parts butter and flour, used to thicken soups and sauces) by melting 3 Tablespoons butter and adding 4 Tablespoons flour. Cook and set aside.

I can only guess that at some point during my parents travels they were in Siesta Key, Florida and there was a restaurant called Neptune's, because this recipe has written at the top "Neptunes" and Hi-Ho always gave credit where credit is due. With further sleuthing I found this information, "Opened in 1990, Neptune’s introduced outside dining and music to the
key, and it remained a local favorite until closing in July 1996." at THIS website. Without further ado, here is the recipe from Neptune's that Hiho clearly loved. This recipe serves 6-8, but Hiho did note "x2" so she either doubled it for a party to serve 12 to 16, or well... you do the math! :)

This recipe is from Mima, my grandmother. No yield is provided, and it is also one of the more obscure recipes she wrote, with limited to no measurements. IngredientsApplesSugarWater2 Tablespoons grated orange rindProcess

This recipe of Mima's seems to be a perfect recipe to use with the recent Clementine Marmalade I made. It also is a perfect way to learn how to make my own Fluff! Win win!This recipe serves 4 but can easily be increased. Ingredients4 egg whites4 Tablespoons sugar1 Tablespoons orange marmaladebutterProcess

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Add sugar, beating lightly.

Fold in the marmalade.

Butter the top of a double boiler, fill with the mixture, cover and steam one hour.

I was so excited to see that this recipe was given to Mom by none other than the talented Lila Vultee, a beloved family friend and fellow Mainer. Oh the stories I could tell about this former caterer. She is a delight and I owe her a long overdue visit.

I have taken stock of my life in recent months and have decided to get
back to the basics of what I want in life, how I want to work, and what
is important to me. For far too long I have let my work in education get
the better of me, taking precious hours from my family, and derailing
my efforts in sustainability and preservation. I began this blog many
years ago to preserve the many generations of family recipes I inherited
when our mother died suddenly in 1999. So starting today, I will return
to getting the recipes out of this old metal box and onto the blog so
they will be there for all the future generations.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

This soup made a fantastic first course for this years Christmas Dinner. Our family has a "Mystery Soup" tradition in which only the cook who made the soup knows what the main ingredient is, no one is allowed to taste until everyone is served, and the winner is the first person to name the star ingredient. This years winner was Bruce, who I observed closing his eyes to really focus on this subtle but very present flavor. The flavor of this soup is fantastic and I will return to this many times for a nice cold weather warm up. This recipe serves 6.

The Merrymeeting Kitchen

This picture is from the kitchen at the Merry Meeting Farm. A can of plum pudding exploded and they laughed and laughed and laughed! The photo was made into a serving tray, from which I made a digital copy. Pictured is my mother HiHo, my grandmother Mima, my great-grandmother BaBa, and some cousins.

About Me

I am a mom of three children; trying to evolve, living locally and sustainably, and putting my MS to use, one ecological footprint at a time. I am a Native New Englander with a sense of wonder that began at a young age watching sunsets with my mother. I pass this on to my children and am preserving our family history in the process.

A Merry Meeting to Everyone!

My mother HiHo's love of cooking was passed on to me from generations before her. She asked us to remember her with flowers and music, but I also remember her with cooking. This blog is to share this love and at the same time preserve and publish the generations of recipes handed down to me from my family's kitchens all over New England. I encourage comments and stories. Just click on the recipe title, and the link will take you to the comment options. If you knew my mother or anyone like her, there are volumes of stories to share and I invite them to be woven into this blog. So anytime a recipe moves you to share a story, we'd love to hear it! Thanks for reading, now go cook!